His Apparition
by NoWarningSignsNoAlibi
Summary: She's lived her life struggling through Demon World. She's nothing special, nothing to take notice of. Until she encounters a certain three-eyed demon and kitsune at the Demon World Tournament. As both boys force her to reconsider her life, she finds that her unknown past is not something to be ignored. And neither is her future. Slight AU, Kurama/OC, Hiei/OC.
1. Chapter 1

I was not an extraordinary apparition. With no real purpose, except to maybe find some closure on the past I had little to no understanding of, and no real means of attaining my solitary goal, I was a wanderer personified. To say I was dissatisfied with my banal life would be an understatement. I had spent the better portion of the past ten years running. From what exactly, I couldn't tell you. I was stoic to all the demons I encountered, luckily scaring most away with a simple glance or burst of energy, that usually tired me out, and completely terrified on the inside. I had no purpose and to live without a purpose or a past to tie you down to the world is a scary thing.

Restless and awaiting adventure, the Demon World Tournament sponsored by Yusuke Urameshi piqued my interest. I would like to tell you I went there with hopes to win, or at the very least reinvigorate my life, but I'm not a liar. Things in the Demon World had taken an unfortunate turn of events for me, but I get ahead of myself. So with little to no training, I headed out to battle with the top contenders of the demon world with every intention to die.

On the night before the Preliminaries, I dreamt. In my dream I was walking through a field of grass, and I was young again, as young as I was when I first entered Demon World. And as I ran around, this smaller version of myself was actually _laughing, _chasing someone through the grasses, though my dream-self was much too short to see over the top of the grass. And then I ran into a pair of skirt covered legs, and fell backwards in a fit of giggles. Then a tall woman who eerily resembled how I look now turned around smiling as brightly as the sun blazing overhead through a sky so clearly blue it could not have been in Demon World.

She picked me up, cooing sweet, lovely things to me as I smiled as though shadows could not reach my young heart. And the dream continued like that, like some sort of amazing fairytale where I had a mother who chased me and taught me how to laugh. And then I felt a stirring in my mind, indicating to me that this was just a fantasy about to end, and all I could think as my mother turned to face me was that even in my dreams I would not find a happy ending to my tale. And this gorgeous willowy woman turned to me, her laugh lines and easy smile vanishing as she told me in her sing-song voice, "Wake up, Haruka. You don't belong here anymore, darling."

I jolted awake, falling out of the tree I spent the night in. For just a moment, I lay in the grass, cursing myself for being so clumsy and having such a hopeful mind. I laid my head in the dirt for one second more before fully opening my eyes, and secretly savored the dream that I truly believed would be the last dream I ever had.

I got myself up off the ground and dusted myself off, though even I knew there was not a hope in the world raggedy, formerly white dress I was wearing. Looking around, I realized that the day was already starting and I had very little time to actually get to the tournament. Yet, I found myself uncharacteristically fussing over my hair, trying to untangle the mass of waves atop my head. Once my white-streaked dark hair hung as straight as it could down my back, I set off at a run for the tournament. I didn't know that despite all my fussing that morning, I had forgotten to clean the dirt smudges off my face.

Arriving at the site of the registration for the tournament, I arrive to see many demons already headed inside, either as spectators or as those who have already registered to fight. I walk with dignity up to a demon I see sitting at a table writing down names on a scroll of paper and give him mine. "Haruka Oishi." His eyes flicker up and then stare at me in surprise. I'm sure I look weak and unimposing, in fact I know I do. Standing at an unusually short height with frail features, swollen lips, covered in dirt despite trying to clean myself earlier, and gossamer wings I try to keep hidden behind my back, I more strongly resemble a lost child than a demon ready to compete to be the ruler of all of Demon World.

I stare back as hard as possible, challenging him to say something, and spout out as much demon energy as possible. The lizard like creature before me just sneers at me and says, "Sweetheart, you'd last longer in the sack than you will in the arena."

"Really," I ask, feigning shock. Then I quickly unsheathe a dagger on my leg and throw it at him, nearly missing his head, as it sticks to the wall behind him. "Because I came here to fight, not screw shriveled up demons." He just sneers at me one last time before handing me a tag with a four-digit number on it as he writes down my name. "Go on inside, Sweetheart. They're 'bout to start drawing lots for them prelims." In response, I lean forward to extract my dagger from the wall and the waltz off into the arena to find a ridiculously long line awaiting me.

But, before I go to join them I begin to stumble off to find a nice dark corner where I can gather my energy. Trying to boost my demon energy to appear at the high C-class level had exhausted me. AS I crumpled against the wall, I got a feel for my competition, trying to decide who I think I could actually beat in what appeared to be a Battle Royale style fight. There weren't many with figures like two of the former Three Kings, Yomi and Mukuro, and Urameshi himself alongside his gaggle of friends from the Dark Tournament. A swell of nausea passes over me and I nearly black out for a second before finally regaining my bearings and climbing to my feet to get in line.

Hulking creatures tower over me on every side as I wait to draw my lot. To calm my nerves I list all the things I could have going for me in a fight. Basic hand-to-hand combat training from bar brawls. Handy with my set of six daggers. Not entirely pitiful spirit energy, like some of my competitors. And most importantly, I'm fast. If I try I should be able to dodge my own death for as long as possible depending on my competitors.

Mukuro steps up to draw his lot. Then a short demon about my height, whose name I remember starts with an "H" and used to fight with Urameshi. He gets group five. It continues like this, with me tuning in and out of the drawings until it's my turn. Group 5.

So I'm up against Mukuro's right hand man. I'm so _screwed_.

I walk over to hang on the edges of Urameshi's friends and watch them laugh and enjoy each other's company, genuinely thrilled to be there about to fight each other. And for a moment I get the crazy urge to walk up to them and act like I belong among them. I can see it clear as day in my mind. I walk over and toss friendly smile at all the boys. Chu calls me Sheila and asks what I'm doing there. And I'll be charismatic and act like I belong and in seconds I'll become one of them, laughing, joking about the upcoming fights. And I'm hit by such a wave of jealousy for this girl in my head who so naturally fits in, that I nearly tear up through the stoic façade, which I know I have firmly in place. Realizing the danger of such thoughts, I throw one final glance at the group of laughing boys and go to the area to wait to be transported to the arenas in the sky.

I expected to be alone once more but instead find Mukuro's short friend conversing with a boy with penetrating green eyes and long red hair. My heart gives a nervous lea at the beauty of the two creatures before me. So utterly different in appearance and stature, yet clearly close in some way. It feels unusual for me to notice beauty in this ugly world on what is sure to be an ugly day, but I do and it captivates me for a flicker of a moment. I silence my steps as I approach, but apparently not quick enough to go unnoticed, as both men turn to me ready to unsheathe their weapons. I level my gaze at them, careful to keep my eyes blank. The darker haired one glares, while the red head clears his throat in the silence that follows their noticing me. Though before he can say anything, the darker haired one cuts him off. "Weak filth, get out of here. We're talking."

A part of me says let it go, but I know I won't as I recognize my voice responding. "Last time I checked this wasn't a reserved area for you and your _friend_," I say, putting a suggestive emphasize on the word friend, causing both men to bristle at my insinuation. "And it's not like I'm spying, just getting away from the hordes of actual filth."

The shorter one grunts in response, but the red-haired man speaks up. "I apologize. I'm Kurama and this is Hiei and we were just leaving, so the space is all yours," he says politely with a slight inclination of his head and no indication that he cares. Both men stalk off and I find myself leaning against a wall, considering the contrasting beauty of the cold Kurama and the belligerent Hiei. After all, do I not deserve some beauty on my final day?


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Sorry, forgot this on the first chapter, but I do NOT own anything from Yu Yu Hakusho that is recognizable as belonging to someone else.

Panting, I laughed internally at myself for thinking I stood a chance. I was exhausted and had not even gotten into a minor scuffle yet, as all the other demons are preoccupied with the demon Hiei, who slices through them like paper with his sword, moving swiftly from one demon to the next in a blur. Dead bodies of demons strewed the ground, most with blood spilling. None had been given the chance to surrender as Hiei systematically wound through them all and few lay unconscious instead of dead.

When the fight commenced, the demons, without a word spoken between them, went after Hiei without even a thought to attacking each other. I, on the other hand, made for the nearest tree where I could watch the fight before I was dragged into it myself. No one noticed me sneak away, but I had the sense someone knew that I was not on the main battleground trying to hunt down my most lethal competitor. The swift grace of his sword, forceful and unforgiving as it plunged into body after body. Then my reverie was broken as I felt the cool metal pressed against my throat. "Coward," I heard Hiei growl. I didn't attempt to deny his accusation. There was a part of me that knew my hiding was only to prolong my life, but now with the blade against my jugular, I knew I could no longer hide.

I stepped forward, closer to the demon that had yet to finish off my life. His blade cut into my throat drawing blood and triggering me to close my eyes. My death was mere moments away, so I dropped my stoic mask and felt serenity settle over my features, as I exhaled slowly, no longer trying to inhale the scent of the carnage surrounding my killer and me.

There's this moment, when you know that your death has been coming, when you know that you're alone with little to live for, that you lapse into yourself and forget many things. I found myself forgetting about how long struggled to discover my past, and the amount of time I wasted on trying to build a future I would ultimately give. I didn't dwell on the notion that I could have lived for centuries longer, or that maybe, just maybe, if I had been able to smile my life would have been different. I didn't think about my moment where I stared down Urameshi's gang and wished to the Spirit World that I wished I was one of them. I didn't think of the unusual beauty of Hiei and Kurama conversing in the waiting area, or of Hiei's katana pressed to my neck.

All I could possibly get through my head as I accepted my death was that moment of waking up. That feeling when your body realizes you are no longer in your dream, but your mind has not quite figured it out yet. When your muscles feel alive from a long night's sleep, and your mind feels blissful with the ignorant assumption that your dream was reality. I breathed that moment in, as it was the happiest thing I could recall.

And then he hesitated. Opening my eyes, I demanded to know what he was doing. His blood red eyes as merciless as ever considered me quizzically as I stood there squirming. "What," I finally asked, irritated at his hesitation, "do I have something on my face?"

He let more seconds of silence pass, and then, "Surrender and I'll allow you to walk away with your life."

"I'd sooner throw myself on my daggers."

He looked at me, as though he were considering if I was the type of food he wanted for dinner. Fed up, I reached to unsheathe my daggers, when he mumbled something, startling me out of my plans to threaten him until he had no choice but to end my life. Then his arm swiftly moved and everything went black.

* * *

I woke to the smell of sweat. It was heavy and threatened to choke, but I refused to open my eyes to see what the source of the permeating odor was. Instead, I tried to figure out what the hell was going on. Then it came to me. He let me live. That merciless demon, Hiei, who I witnessed ending lives as if they were worth no more than flies, had spared me. When I wanted nothing more than to die. The bastard. At this realization, I shot up from whatever I was laying on and my eyes burst open. A pounding of excruciating pain refuted the sudden movement and appearance of light, and I gasped in pain before I had the chance to realize what was going.

I collapsed back to laying down and slowly opened my eyes to take in my surroundings. It appeared I was in some sort of clinic laying in a hospital bed. The room had blinding white light and seemed to stretch on forever. Taking more caution, I sit myself up, as a nurse with cat ears and whiskers comes rushing in to check on me. I push her off me, causing her to fly back as she was obviously not expecting me to push her away. Still, with caution, I stand up to find the world spinning around me and the pain in my head shoots to an all-time high, and before I have the chance to push forward, I black out again.

* * *

Once again, I wake up in the same room to see the same nurse jump back a good ten feet upon seeing my eyes open. I exhale I frustration at how timid she is. How in the three worlds someone as fragile as her could have become a nurse is well beyond my understanding. Questions swarm my conscious mind, but I only voice the ones that this cat nurse can answer. "How long have I been out?"

She looks startled to hear me speak, and I can't really blame her. My voice sounds weak to my ears, weaker than its normal lilting tone that I've come to despise. She answers in a barely intelligible whisper, "Ten days, Miss Oishi. The tournament has progressed along quite a bit while you've been out. It is my request that you remain here for the remainder of the tournament. The head injury you sustained needs time to heal."

Exhausted at her rambling, I sat up, invigorated to find that the shooting pain in my head from before had diminished to almost nothing. Well, maybe not nothing, but certainly something more tolerable. That was all I needed as a signal to me that I was time to get up and back to the tournament. Hiei owed me some answers. Why was I spared? Who cared enough to not only let me live, but take me to the clinic in my unconscious state? Why couldn't they just let me die?

I needed answers and I needed them now. I bolted out of the room as soon as the nurse turned her back on me, leaving her screaming at my retreating form. I recognized my surroundings immediately. I was not far off from the corner, where, on the first day, I and tried to gather myself. Knowing that so much time had passed since then was alarming since for me; it might as well have been yesterday. I walked at a steady pace until I reached the main gathering place of all the competitors, including those who had been taken out as early as the preliminaries.

I began to get angry with not only Hiei, but whoever brought me to the clinic. Who did they think they were? Embarrassing me like I'm some imbecile child who can't care for themselves. By the time I glimpsed Hiei's spiky hair, I was utterly furious and it seemed I was projecting that into my demon energy, as all the demons surrounding me cleared a path. I should have known to cool it down as the more time I spent projecting, the more likely I was to loose energy with a snap of my fingers and pass out. But I couldn't seem to find it in myself to care. I was out for blood. As I reached the source of my anger and stood in front of, opening my mouth ready to say something, what I didn't know, the demon looked up at me, not the faintest bit surprised to see me standing there. This pushed forward my first question. "What the hell were you thinking?"

His eyes narrowed slightly at me, but he said nothing. "I said," repeating myself louder this time, "what the hell were you thinking leaving me alive? Embarrassing me like that in front of all of Demon World? How sadistic are you?"

"Hn."

That was it. Hn. Ok, I was really pissed now and I could feel my stoic mask crumbling to pieces as I let my anger take control. Without a thought, I impulsively got closer to Hiei and grabbed him by the color of his shirt. Though he was the same height as me and easily outweighed me, the energy felt from my anger fueled me to lift him up. However, before his feet had even left the ground, I found myself pinned against the wall by my throat, my feet easily six inches off the ground, and the fire demon growling in my face, his red eyes alight with anger and a hint of amusement. I assumed the last part was for my stupidity at challenging him. My wings ached at being pinned and I could almost hear the pain cursing me for getting myself in this situation. Too late now for regrets, though.

"Foolish little girl. You really have no idea what I'm capable of. Walk away now with your tail between your legs." He let me go, causing me to crumble to the floor against the wall. He then began to walk away leaving me there, humiliated with all of my former competition laughing at me. That is something I refused to settle for. Shooting to my feet, ignoring the protests of my aching wings and head, I pulled one of daggers free from its hilt, relieved to see the moronic nurse had not removed them. Without hesitation, I once again acted on impulse and set the dagger sailing toward Hiei's back.

He dodged them easily, not even glancing behind him at his attacker. It was blaringly obvious to me and the numerous spectators who had gathered that Hiei did not believe for a second I could end his life. And the thought that I was here, seeking death, while Hiei didn't deem me worthy of receiving it or handing death out is what I would use later on as an excuse for my behavior.

Unsheathing two daggers, gripping one in each hand I charged him from behind. As I did this, it probably should have entered my mind that I have limited fighting experience and that the last time I fought Hiei, it was a one sided battle ending with me knocked out for ten days. Suddenly, none of that mattered. Not even my death wish mattered. I would not be humiliated by some demon. And as he turned to face me, exasperation apparent in his features, I began shouting every profanity in the book as he swiftly dodged all me jabs. He simply laughed and easily evaded my attacks, mocking me all the while. "And you claim I have humiliated you. Look at your behavior now. Your inability to even touch me."

And within seconds, someone from behind me had grabbed and began to pull me away from my opponent. All I could do was shriek and attempt to wriggle away. All to no avail.

I continued to shriek and attempt to escape until I had been led far enough away from Hiei that I could begin to calm down. My energy suddenly dissipated now that I was no longer face to face with those crimson eyes, mocking me and all I possessed. I felt worn down from my outburst, ashamed that I had allowed my control to slip to such an extent. Hiei was right I had humiliated myself. Slumping over on myself, I expected whoever had dragged me away to release me immediately, maybe kill me for the heck of it. But instead he, I assumed it was a he by the arms covered in muscle which held me up, slowly lowered me to the ground in what appeared to be preparation room of some sort. Finally glancing up to look him in the face, I had to fight to keep my jaw from dropping.

All I could think was, _Why would he save me?_

* * *

_AN_: Hey people! SO do you think you know who dragged the terribly torn up Haruka away from her fight with Hiei? Tell me what you think of my first two chapters! I need to know if I should keep up with this story or scrap it and start from scratch with the same idea.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Yu Yu Hakusho.

I doubt there is a more tedious task than trying to gather thoughts. I imagine that in a relaxed setting, gathering one's thoughts would be an easy task, not burdensome or the least bit difficult. However, when being hunted, when staring down the barrel of a loaded gun, when looking into the unlikely face of a merciful being before you, gathering thoughts becomes the task of the century. This moment, where my thoughts seemed to scatter as if a strong burst of wind had blown through my mind, left me incapable of forming coherent sentences. Fighting back my incoherence was like beating a rabid lion away with a stick of bamboo, but I found that the swiftest way to regain any semblance of coherency was to look away from the cold, penetrating emerald eyes that studied me.

Yet, looking away from those eyes brought me no solace, as I realized that while the red-haired demon beside me had carried me away from my pointless fight, he was not the only one that followed me out of the room. It seems that my feeble attack had garnered the attention of some of the demons present. Not just any demons, though. There before me, in the doorway of the room I was dragged into stood Yusuke Urameshi alongside Chu, Touya, Rinku, Jin, Shishiwakamaru, and Suzuka. The forces at work in the world were surely mocking me now.

Being the prideful demon that I am, I regained my composure a bit later than I would have liked, but at least I regained it. I turned to face my supposed savior. Kurama. With the coldest glare I could scrounge up in the wake of my shock, I leveled my gaze at Kurama, and spoke as evenly and as powerfully as I could, silencing the whispers coming from the group in the doorway. And still all I could manage to choke it in an even tone was one word. "Why?"

Kurama's gaze turned into one of sympathy, but he offered me no words. No explanations. He didn't even seem to have to try to figure out what it was that I was asking. He just seemed to instinctively know that I wasn't asking in regards to being dragged out of there, or even anything concerning that past few minutes. I wanted an explanation for the events from over a week ago that lead me to be here. His sympathy that gave me no closure sent a spike of hatred through my veins. Who was he to pity me? It only humiliated me further. The silence that stretched on between Kurama and I only ended when I tuned back into the world surrounding me. Embarrassingly enough, it seemed that I had lost focus while staring him down.

Damn him.

Yusuke had apparently asked me a question, and when I turned to him my face entirely blank, he sighed in exasperation, and repeated what he had said with a tinge of annoyance. "That was pretty impressive what you did out there, challenging the pipsqueak. If Kuwabara were here, he might have proposed to you for saying half the shit you did to Hiei." In response my brain frantically searched for a face to match to the name Kuwabara. Ah. He must be referring to the human spirit wielder who was a part of the team that won one of the more recent Dark Tournaments. If my recollection was correct, he was a bit of a bumbling fool, so perhaps Yusuke was attempting to insult me.

I remained silent, my eyes taking in the demons around me, watching them carefully. I know I can't trust them, I'd seen what they had done to other demons in their preliminaries. Just because one foolish demon had a tendency to spare my life didn't mean others would.

And I blanched. When had that changed? When had my survival instincts began to kick in again? It had been years since I had thought anything remotely pertaining to the preservation of my life. Now, here I was, assessing the demons around me gauging the likelihood that one of them would jump forward with a knife to my throat and perform a clean decapitation. The mental image of my head lying separate from my body was an interesting one, albeit disturbing. I found I didn't like that image. I like my head attached and functioning.

Blinking back to reality and out of my gruesome thoughts, I found Kurama regarding me with curiosity in his eyes. "If you don't mind me asking-"

"And what if I do," I cut him off, mostly just to get a rise out of him. It didn't work as he continued as though I hadn't said a damn thing.

"-what is your dispute with Hiei? I know he is not the most charming, but to outright attack him, especially in your condition..."

"Woah," Urameshi shouted, "Are you trying to tell me she's pregnant? And in a tournament! Is she out of her mind!"

The red-haired wind demon, Jin, slapped him on his head for the outburst while Kurama merely closed his eyes in exasperation and Chu scolded Urameshi. "Whatsa matter wit ya mate? 'Dressin' a Sheila like that! 'Specially one as pretty as her," added the drunk with a wink in my direction.

"No," I answered him, enforcing my words with as much bite as I could manage, "I'm not pregnant. I- well my wings- they um- well they," I exhaled a long breath trying to gather my thoughts. I didn't want all these powerful demons to know I was in a state of heightened weakness, what with my wings being torn up and my head aching. I thought they would've figured out the state my wings are in by themselves, but apparently I had to tell them. "Just look at my wings." I finally spurt out, turning my back to the rambunctious group so they could get a good look without me having to explain everything. In case you haven't figured it out yet, I'm not one for words.

I heard the gasps, the muttered curses, and for a second I doubted my choice to leave the hospital. Maybe I should've stayed in the clinic to heal up before I attacked that damn fire demon. Oh well, it was a bit late for that now. Turning to Kurama, I found his green eyes on me. But wait I was wrong earlier when I said emerald, and green definitely didn't capture their color. It was like moss growing in a faraway forest, that I'd be too scared to enter. Eyes that spoke of consistency and enigmas, and I million thoughts that would probably terrify me. And here they were. Watching me like I was actually something worth watching.

"What," I snapped at the fox demon. The slight widening of his eyes showed his surprise at my reaction. At least, I think it was surprise at my reaction.

"I'm sorry, it's just I can't seem to get a reliable read on your demon energy. For a few moments you seem to be a powerful demon, and then the next…" He trailed off, obviously too polite to call my power weak to my face. It wasn't too insulting though, I'd heard it all before.

"Huh. Guess I'm a bit of mystery then. Right, zurui?" I whispered to Kurama, liking the taste of his new nickname on my tongue. I found it fit him accurately. To my surprise, he released a slight, seemingly genuine smile in my direction. It surprised me so much that I almost returned it. Almost.

"So," I heard a cough come from the direction of the door as the group of boys slowly made their way into the increasingly crowded room, that, with its lack of windows, seemed to lose air by the second. "Do you have a name?" Inquired the shortest one, Rinku.

This caught me by surprise. Surely they wouldn't ask for name if they had the intention to kill me? This allowed some of the tension to leave my posture as I answered, "Haruka. Haruka Oishi. Unknown demon extraordinaire."

Now Urameshi spoke up again, "You don't know what type of demon you are? How is that possible? Just shift into your true demon form. That should work, right?" He asked with a glance toward Kurama hoping he could shed some light onto the mystery I had just become for the little group I had gathered.

"In theory, but I can't get a clear read for your demon energy despite the fact that it fluctuates. You can't shift out of that form, can you?"

"No, I've been in this form for as long as I can remember. And I can't shift back," I added the last part a bit quieter with a duck of my head. It's a bit embarrassing, admitting that you don't know what you are. My pride and biting remarks only carry my confidence so far.

"Well, it doesn't really matter what kinda demon you are, Haruka. I can't just let demons wander 'round my tournament try to stir up fights. Get where I'm coming from," Urameshi asked me.

"Of course, who am I to impede on the festivities. Since I'm no longer killing or in line to be killed."

At that I walked off, without a backward glance for the boys behind me. I had no idea where the hell I was going, considering that I had come here to die. At this point, I only knew a few things. One, I need to get away from those boys, because the last thing I need is the old Spirit Detective and his friends digging around through the skeletons in my closet. Two, I was homeless ally-less. And three, I really needed to do something about my head and my wings, 'cause both were really starting to hurt like a mother.

I walked right out of the stadium, passing under the shadows of the floating arenas, getting lost in my thoughts of where I could possibly go now. Who would even care enough to take me in and nurse me to health at this point.

Then I heard footsteps following me, so I turned to meet them head on, surprised to find those same forest eyes. "What? Couldn't leave me be, zurui?"

He ignored my question, and began to walk past me. I thought he was going to completely ignore me, making me out to be an even bigger fool than I had already proven myself that day. But instead, he surprised me again by grabbing my arm and pulling me after him. "The way you make your demon energy come in waves is no small feat. There is someone I know, a human, who would be willing to help you with that ability, among others you may have yet to discover. I could introduce you, convince this human to allow you to train. Would you be interested?"

I gave him a sidelong glance, just as we passed beneath another arena, the shadows warping his features in the darkness. What? Is he trying to trick me? Or is it possible he is actually trying to help me? And if he is helping me, why?

"I'm no fool, Yoko Kurama." I said, using his demon name like a sword. "I'm in no condition to undergo training with my injuries, and even if I were, what could make me believe that this offer is legitimate? You could be trying to kill me and avenge your friend Hiei for my attacking him."

He gave a light laugh, once again catching me by surprise. I must be severely losing my touch if two demons are able to confuse to such this extent. "If I wanted to hurt you right now, I could, and you would be able to do little to stop me. But I see potential. You are fast, you're brave, and you have the ability to easily manipulate your spirit energy despite its weak levels. And, admittedly, I have my own reasons for introducing you to my friend."

"And those would be?"

"I guess you'll just have to train with the human to find out."

I looked at him carefully, searching his endless green eyes for any malice, but strangely I found none. I could only see anxiety and something that resembled…curiosity? After a minute, I voiced my one concern that could rule out this slow-going deal. "Would the training be in the Human World?"

"Yes."

"Then, um," I coughed, trying to mask my embarrassment, "I can't enter the Human World, I've been banned by a former Spirit Detective."

"May I ask why?" I could see his curiosity piquing in his eyes, but I was quick to shoot it down. That part of my past I remembered, and he had no business snooping around in it.

"No, you can't."

He considered me for just a moment. And then, "I'll talk to Koenma. If he allows you to return to train, what would you say? Will you agree to my offer once you've recovered?"

Talk to Koenma? He knew the prince? It seemed this fox had been meddling with the Spirit world for some time if he had the pull to get my ban lifted. And I could return to the Human World, with its beauty that still plagued my dreams and nightmares. Could I really refuse the chance to go back after years of being a virtual prisoner here?

"Let's see what you can do, zurui."

He took a step closer to me, cutting down the distance between us. I nearly shivered at the proximity. For so long, so many people had only ever been this close to me if they were preparing to attack. To find Kurama this close, with no intention to physically hurt me, it was…unsettling. "Then we have a deal?" He asked, his graceful voice dropped as he asked the question.

I had to actually fight back a smile. Smiling at what I didn't know. "Yeah, we just might."

AN: So tell me what you think of this little deal! I'm struggling a bit with this beginning, and I'm still not entirely sure where I'm gonna take this whole thing, so review! Let me know what your thinking! And a shout out to anon, my first reviewer, and of course all those who have put me on alert! Til next time people!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or anything recognizable as belonging to someone else.

The tournament had drawn to a close, and I had witnessed in that small amount of time more demon energy then I could have even imagined existed. The six fighters who once stood with Yomi but whose loyalty obviously lays with Urameshi. Urameshi himself. My new rival, Hiei. My partner in a deal, Kurama. And of course, the former and new reigning rulers of the Makai. And yet, through all this bloodshed that simultaneously intrigued and disgusted me, my mind could not focus on the fights at hand. I found myself continuously drawn back to my fight with Hiei and my newly agreed upon deal with Kurama. I had crossed both their paths throughout the tournament as I hung around the shadows, watching demons frolic about the mayhem that they thrived on, and yet neither even so much as glanced my way.

Perhaps they couldn't even pick up on the meager amounts of energy I had been excreting as I slowly healed.

With all the demons clearing out at the end of the tournament, I decided it would be as good a time as any for myself to clear out. But to do that I need to see if Kurama was able to grant me access to the Human World.

Even as the Ningenkai fleeted past my mind, I could not ignore the familiar pang in my heart. To return to the land where joy and pain and every passionate life force existed in such vibrancy that it nearly strangled me with the ecstasy of it all. I remember the unnaturally blue sky with a solitary yellow sun, or the darkness of the night that came in a spectrum of blue and black with starbursts popping out when the city turned its cheek to the world. It was the place of my dreams. And the inevitable subsequent nightmares. That night sky I adored lit up with an unforgiving conflagration and children's screams of pure agony.

I quickly pushed the haunting memory out of my head as I searched the crowd for a certain human-inhabiting kitsune. I quickly found his shock of red hair amongst the demons and quickly approached him, though his back was turned away from me.

"Did the prince agree?" I asked, no point in beating around the bush. I was revitalized, I did not wish to stall if I was going to begin training.

Without even turning to look at me, he said, "Yes, but it took a bit of convincing on my part. Any idea why?"

His fox like curiosity would not let the issue rest. But I had no intentions of letting this near stranger in on my secret. "Yes."

He glanced it me to see if I would continue, but apparently the look on my face indicated I had no intentions to give a further explanation. He sighed in annoyance; I clearly frayed his nerves. "Koenma insisted that an employee of his accompany you to the temple where you will be training in the Ningenkai."

"A spirit detective?" He looked at me curiously. The fear at dealing with a spirit detective must've been apparent in my eyes. Urameshi seemed tolerable, but since he was half-demon, I knew that whoever the spirit detective was, it wasn't him anymore.

"No," his human politeness leaked through in this one word, as he rushed reassure me. Quickly though, he returned to his cold, calculating self. "You will be escorted by Yusuke's former assistant, Botan."

"Oh, um, okay. Where to, then?"

"Hn. Kurama, I would've thought that you'd be above babysitting some weak hatchling."

I whirled around to face Hiei, leaning against a wall behind me, scorn dripping from his eyes as he regarded me. Already I could feel myself growling at him, wishing I looked more intimidating than some fairy from a human child's story. What about this fire demon made me lose my control to such an extent?

"Excuse me? A hatchling?" I snarled at him, resenting the name.

"Yes, you have not aged even two decades. You've yet to transform beyond that idiotic, human-looking form, you've yet to reach the energy levels of even that of a bottom feeder. From the smell of you, you haven't even been screwed." He added the last part with a smirk on his lips.

I snarled again at him, but kept my feet firmly planted on the ground. I refused to let him get the better of me, to humiliate me again. I reluctantly pulled my gaze away from him, unsure that turning my attention away from him would be smart. I was almost positive he would attack me again, and be sure to end my life this time. But for some odd reason, I couldn't let that happen anymore.

"Zurui, can we go? I'm sure this Botan grows impatient." And then with a hateful glance at Hiei, "I wouldn't want to keep her waiting because of some meaningless distraction."

Before Hiei could react to my insult, Kurama stepped in again, playing the ever-careful peacekeeper. It was a waste of time in my opinion.

In his cool voice Kurama spoke up, "What is it, Hiei? I'm sure you have a greater purpose for being here than to simply antagonize Haruka."

"Hn. Not one I'll share in front of the hatchling."

"Very well. If you'll excuse me." And before I could even form a protest on my tongue, they were gone, leaving me standing there like a moron. Indignantly, I followed them from a distance, intent on eavesdropping on whatever they intended to say behind my back. I figured it would work to my advantage to have an edge on them, some information I could blackmail them for.

Strangely enough, I followed them to the same corridor in which I first encountered them. Carefully, I leaned against a wall, just out of sight of the two demons, quieting my breathing in hopes they wouldn't hear me, and lowering my demon energy as much as I could so they wouldn't detect me unless they were looking. After minutes of silence, I became worried that they had walked somewhere else and I was listening to the air. Then Hiei spoke up.

"What are you doing, fox? You've never been the type to pity the weak."

"I don't think she's necessarily weak. Despite what all outward appearances indicate, I believe that there is some hidden power to her."

"Hn. You are pitying her."

To this Kurama had no response. For a moment, I tried to understand to whom they were referring, and while I assumed it was me, it didn't seem fitting that Kurama would describe me as having some hidden power. Than Kurama did speak. "You pitied her. When she was in the arena and she should have died, you chose to knock her out."

I could practically see the glare Hiei shot Kurama at his words. "I take no pleasure in slaying those too pathetic to defend their own life."

"Hiei, did all you want to discuss were my questionable motives? Surely you are not so bored as to waste your time on what I believe you called a 'pathetic hatchling'."

"I don't want that thing around my sister. I don't trust it."

"I told you I would watch over Yukina, and I do not believe that taking Haruka to Genkai's temple will contradict my duty."

"Hn. Just know fox, should harm fall upon my sister, it will be your head. Think of that as you let your foolish fox curiosity dominate your decisions."

Sensing the conversation was over, I quickly darted back down the various hallways to where Kurama and Hiei had left me. I struggled to maintain the irritated expression of someone who got left behind. While I didn't necessarily glean to much from their conversation in concerns to me, I learned that the fire demon had a sister. And that apparently that sister was weak enough to need protection. As to why Hiei would allow someone else to watch over her, I was at a loss. He didn't seem like the type to entrust his duty to others. He must have a deeper bond with this Kurama than either of them lets on. However, it was probable that Hiei's sister was not some huge secret, so truthfully I had no blackmail material in my possession.

Kurama rounded the corner and approached me, "We had better go. I'm sure Botan and Koenma grow impatient waiting for us." And with that he began to walk outside, and I was left with nothing to do but follow them.

As we walked, my mind strayed to what I was getting into. I was leaving the world of my people, whoever they may be. I had little to call my own, beside what few things I wore. The sole dress I had brought to the tournament, and the only piece of jewelry I would ever wear, a thin armband of rope with a bright red gem that hung off of it, which I kept turned into my body, so no one would notice it. Then there was of course my daggers I kept sheathed strategically throughout my body. At that moment, I felt as pitiful as Hiei had said.

Soon, we were within view of the prince of the Reikai. His teenage appearance was not nearly as intimidating as Kurama's or Hiei's, but there was still an undeniable presence of power in what would otherwise be average beauty. There was a slight blue haired girl standing at his side, her pink eyes transfixed on me with curiosity and anticipation, like I was a new found toy. As much as the sentiment in her eyes should have bothered me, I couldn't help but glow a little inside that someone was actually anticipating _me_.

The girl who I assumed to be Botan ran forward and hugged me, and before I had the chance to side step her, I was being crushed in her embrace and her cheery voice prattled on in my ear. You would think she had no common sense, she should know better than to even approach a weak demon so abruptly. "Hi, you must be Haruka. My name's Botan. I'm really excited to meet you, though Prince Koenma hasn't told me much about you. I figure you must be special, if Kurama has taken note of you." At that point, she stepped back, but kept me at arm's length. "Wow you really are a gorgeous thing," she spoke loudly as her eyes roamed me over.

Kurama, seemingly sensing my obvious discomfort at being subject to this girl's hyperactive attention, stepped in with a kind smile on his face, so unlike the face he approaches me or Hiei with. She must be his friend, maybe a former lover. "Botan, this is Haruka, but I don't think she takes too kindly to being mobbed by a stranger."

"Oh! I'm so terribly sorry," said Botan, instantly releasing me. The look in her eyes tuned so sad with worry at offending me.

I couldn't offer her a smile, but for some reason I felt the need to comfort this girl with such vitality, so I told her in as much of a reassuring tone as I could manage, "It's really no problem. I am Haruka. I'm sure it will be pleasure having you escort me throughout the Ningenkai, Botan."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kurama looking at me with a shocked expression on his face, probably at my politeness. Well, it's not my fault neither him nor his friends ever gave me a reason to be polite. The girl, however, beamed at me. Then I turned toward the prince, forcing myself to be polite. After all, he was allowing me to return to the Human World, he couldn't be that bad.

"Prince Koenma, sir. Thank you for allowing me to return." In my head, I added, _because I know you are sure that I'm too weak to cause any more damage. _

"Yes, well, you're welcome." He then turned his back to me and opened what I recognized from nearly a decade ago as a portal. Both Kurama and Botan stepped forward toward the portal, and my voice broke free of its own volition.

"Zurui, what are you doing?"

"I'm going with you. I wish to visit my old friend, and I don't see the harm in making sure you get settled comfortably at the temple." I could practically hear the subtext between his words. _Wouldn't want you running around and killing my friends in the Ningenkai with some hidden powers of yours._ Knowing that I had no say in the matter, I simply nodded. This wasn't a part of our deal, but what could I do?

It seemed I was heading back to Human World with an entourage.

AN: Sorry for the time between update, but unfortunately until I finish school next week, this is how far apart updates are going to be. I don't plan on having any clear cut schedule, which I'm sure all you readers are none too happy about. But I promise not to abandon this baby. So anyway, tell me what you think. I have a list of worries about my writing, and I need to know from all you faithful readers if any of these apply: Mary sue, too much OOC, too slow-paced and boring. Anyway, just review and let me know what's up!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.

* * *

I step through the portal, and the first thing I smell is sunlight. My eyes still closed, all I can take in is the warmth of sun on my skin, warming me with a life I had not felt for nearly ten years. My muscles flexed in glee, my nose itched to take in more of the aroma of the sun, and I prepared myself to open my eyes to the brightness. As they slowly opened, I nearly cried at the sights around me. The trees the sprang up at my back, reaching toward the sun I treasured, the moss at my feet, as I was seemingly at the border of a forest, matched one of my companion's eyes to a tee, just as I had thought. Before me lay a crystal blue sky reaching its arms forward, under the sun. And just below that lay a sprawling temple that reached far in each direction. Both Kurama and Botan peered at me curiously, as the sights around me captivated me, my stoic mask barely in place as I'm sure the wonder shone brightly in my eyes.

Botan was smiling widely at me, enticing me to continue to observe the beauty around me and just smile at it. It almost made me sad I had to disappoint her so wholly. Kurama peered at me, with his curiosity etched in his eyes as he observed me. Slowly I began to move out of the shade of the trees and into the sunlight, and had to consciously restrain myself from collapsing and my back and laying in the sunlight, just basking in its glory. Instead, I marched forward, and said, "Let's meet the human."

What I was expecting from this Genkai: a tall, muscular man in his mid-forties who consistently wore black. What I actually saw from Genkai: An extremely short, old woman with greying pink hair and crackling voice that wasn't as comforting as you would assume from someone of her age. I turned to Kurama, anger brimming in my eyes. "She's the one who's supposed to train me? I'm shocked she can stand up straight! How can she teach me anything?"

My outburst apparently did not go over well, since the next thing I knew, I was laying on my back, my eyes squinting at the sun, with a foot on my chest pinning me down. I gasped for breath as the air was knocked out of me by impact and I struggled to get my feet back under me, to no avail.

"Hm, this is the thing you want me to train. I've met bugs with more demon energy than her. I won't waste my time on her," Genkai said to Kurama, her anger with me apparent on her face. "And you," she said turning her attention to me, where I still lay on the ground, "Here is the only lesson I'll waste my time giving to you, so get it through your thick skull. Don't underestimate things you don't understand. You'll end up on your ass every time you do."

Kurama, who had been quietly standing next to Botan the whole time, while the blue-haired girl stared at me in shock, probably for what I said to Genkai, finally chose this moment to speak up. He casually walked forward, and looked at Genkai with a respectful familiarity. "Please old friend," he began, his eyes containing a slight pleading edge, "allow me to plead her case. You have my word, she will not disappoint you should you give her a chance."

"She's rude and weak, Kurama, with a big head she can't back up. I have better ways to spend the remainder of my life."

"I understand, Master Genkai," he replied with a respectful bow of his head. What I couldn't grasp was why he was so respectful to this insignificant human. Sure, she had me flat on my ass in a matter of seconds, but besides basic martial arts, I doubted she had much going for her. She probably had strong spirit energy, but outside of Yusuke Urameshi, and that one orange-haired human Kuwabara, I had never heard of spirit energy packing much of a punch. And besides that, what could she possibly have to teach a demon, like me, with unknown origins? If it weren't for my insane desire to stay in the Ningenkai, I would have already left this temple far behind me. But I knew if I ran away, it would not be long before Koenma tracked me down and banished me to the Demon World, permanently. So I bit my tongue and listened carefully to the exchange above me. Kurama continued to plead my case, as to why, I couldn't be sure.

"But if I remember correctly, your two most talented students came to you weak, stubborn, and full of themselves." Genkai chose that moment to remove her foot from my chest, which I immediately took as an opportunity to jump up and stand at Botan's side, watching the old woman stare down the Zurui from a more comfortable position.

Just as I began to think that perhaps they had frozen each other with their icy glares, Genkai sighed. "Come inside Kurama, and join me for tea. Botan, could you please take the demon to a room where she may wait while Kurama and I discuss a few things." Her gaze only left Kurama's as she made her way through the same set of doors though which she appeared.

Botan chirped, "Of course, Master Genkai," And she jumped into action, taking off through another set of doors off to the right of the doors that Genkai disappeared through.

Kurama took this moment to regard me with his calculating eyes. As he opened his mouth to say something to me, Botan reappeared and yelled, "Well come on, Haruka. I want to talk to you too, y'know!" With one more wary glance at me, Kurama followed through one set of doors, while I turned on my heel to follow Botan into the temple.

Through the doors, I expected ancient Japanese décor with sparse decorations. But once again, my expectations did not match up with reality. Inside was a surprisingly modern kitchen, living room, and dining table, with a hallway leading off of the kitchen. As I looked around, I found the rather large space empty of people. A curiosity that I had rarely experienced in Demon World bubbled to the surface, and before I could stop myself, a question was leaving my mouth. "Why is the kitchen empty?"

My words must've startled Botan, as she let out a small yelp and turned on me, pink eyes wide in surprise and curiosity. "Why wouldn't it be?"

I realized belatedly how random my question must have seemed to her. I hurried to explain myself. "I just meant that Master Genkai said something about tea, but the kitchen here is empty of her or Kurama. It just doesn't make sense to me."

"Oh, well Genkai can make a pot of tea practically anywhere in her temple! Besides," Botan said, lowering her voice from its usual loud state, "I don't think Master Genkai or Kurama wanted you to hear their conversation, to be entirely honest with you, Haruka."

I had nothing to say to that. While I suspected the same thing, I was hoping my suspicions on how little I was trusted here proved wrong. So, I simply gave Botan a swift nod and proceeded to follow her to down a hallway and into a room about five doors down on the right. The room itself was styled a bit more traditionally on the interior than the other parts of the temple I had seen so far. The walls were white with clean lines of brown wood, with a small cot pushed into the back corner, a small area rug in the center of the hardwood floor, and a bureau across the room from doors that appeared to lead into a closet. The accommodations were simple compared to what I remembered most humans lived like, but they were luxurious compared to what I had seen in the Makai.

I looked longingly at the bed, not being able to remember the last time I slept comfortably, not including when the fire demon knocked me out. Botan must've seen my gaze because she quickly excused herself, closing the door behind her. Ok, so among the reason this wasn't a good place to fall asleep were: I didn't really know these people, and any one of them could be waiting to kill me; even I could sense how many demons of my class or lower were scattered around Genkai's temple and anyone of them could pop in and take a chunk out of me; my tiredness could be conceived as weakness by my potential future mentor. And I'm sure the list could go on if I put enough thought into. But the bottom line is that I'm tired, there's a perfectly functioning cot beckoning me forward, and I probably have a few hours to kill before any major plans are made concerning my fate. So I fell asleep.

* * *

Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip. Looking around, I couldn't be sure where I was or even what world I was in. All I could tell is that whatever world I was in, I was deep underground. Looking around, crystals covered the wall and cast reflections on lingering pools of water in all colors, ranging from a glowing lavender to an orange matching the sunset. However, despite the colorful beauty, I could not deny the presence of something evil that seemed to radiate from deeper in the cave. Maybe it was stupidity that lead me to follow it, or maybe simple curiosity, but I slowly began my descent deeper into the caves. As I walked, my eyes were drawn the bright crystals, greedily wanting to take them off the walls and keep them for myself.

And then I saw someone reflected in one of the crystals. Or, more accurately, I saw me. Though the face reflected back at me looked nothing like me, yet it moved when I moved. Yet, this face had sharper, more mature features, pale white skin, all-black eyes with no white, no irises, tall pointed ears. Since, I could only see my face in the reflective surface, I looked down and nearly passed out at what I saw. My body, once childlike and slight, now had tight muscles and womanly curves blending into one another. However, that was not the most shocking. While my hands and bare feet were the same white as my face, those parts seamlessly blended into my legs, arms, and torso, which appeared as though I had been rolling shimmering black dust. It all combined to have a terrifying yet beautiful effect. Looking over my shoulder to see if my wings bore the same wispy appearance, I was not surprised to see that they too had changed into a deep ebony shade of dragon wings, taller than my head.

If before I was a fairy of Ningenkai legends, now I was an apparition of Makai legends.

I was startled from my thoughts by a loud, malicious roar coming from deep within the cave. So I journeyed deeper. After what seemed like hours of silent walking, with no more indication of other life in the cave, I grew weary of my walk. And just as I had made the decision to give up, head back to find a way out, a figure appeared before me seemingly out of nothing. He was remarkably tall, with my same odd colorings, but his face bore the tattoos of the dragon of the darkness flame, and he wielded the dragon itself on his two arms.

Caught off guard by his appearance, I yelled at him. "Who are you? Why am I here?"

His voice, a deep rumbling noise responded. "You are trapped and no daughter of mine should be a caged animal."

Daughter? His daughter? For some reason, this threw me into a state of panic, as inexplicable as anything I had witnessed in this cave. So I screamed. And then I woke up.

* * *

When I opened my eyes, there was no mindless bliss, just a sense of lingering panic. So seeing a mint-haired demon with bright ruby eyes sitting on the floor of my room pouring tea from a kettle caused me to let out an embarrassing yelp of surprise. This made her to look at me and let out a reassuring smile, which did little to reassure me after the dream I had just experienced.

"Who are you? Why are you here?" Realizing belatedly the similarities to my dream, I visibly winced.

"I'm sorry," responded the wide-eyed girl, "I thought you might want some tea to drink while Master Genkai and Mr. Kurama talk. I'm Yukina, I live at the temple."

At that moment, Botan entered the room. I visibly relaxed at the familiar presence. "Oh, Haruka! You're awake! And I see you've met our lovely Yukina. She's staying with Master Genkai while she searches for her brother. I'm sure you two will get along great! Yukina really is the sweetheart of our group." As Botan prattled on in a way I found surprisingly comforting instead of annoying, something clicked into place for me about what she said regarding Yukina. Missing brother? Hiei asking Kurama to keep his sister safe from me in the Ningenkai? The same shade of ruby eyes? My instincts told me the situation was far from a coincidence. It seemed the fire demon was keeping a secret.

My heart lightened at the information.

Maybe it was this good news that caused me to ask what I did of the two girls. Maybe it was this piece of blackmail that lulled me into a false sense of security in this situation, despite all that could go wrong. "Yukina? Botan," I said, cutting off Botan before she could continue. "If I am to stay here, I think I should know a little bit about the people I'll encounter. Do you mind telling me about them?"

"Oh! Of course we can, Haruka! I haven't even told you what anything about myself yet! How rude of me. See, I'm Pilot of the River Styx and as you know, I once worked with Yusuke, and now work for Lord Koenma…" And on she went, with Yukina interjecting with a sweet comment here or a small anecdote there.

Between Botan's outgoing but sincere persona and Yukina's obvious sweetness and intelligence, I found myself relaxing easily into conversation for the first time in my life. I was by no means trusting with the two girls, but I found myself by far more comfortable with them than I had ever been with another person. Listening to the two of them talk made me forget about my disturbing dreams, my even more disturbing past, and I further forgot about the walls I should have kept carefully in place.

This conversation and false sense of security seemed to go on for hours, yet I never found myself agitated with the two girls, nor was I eagerly awaiting the moment they would leave. Never would I openly admit it to another soul, but I actually felt peaceful.

The two girls laughter and chatter were immediately silenced when the door opened and in walked Kurama and Genkai just as the sun finished its slow decline below the Human horizon line. She looked the same as she had before, slightly angry just beneath years of wisdom etched on her face. Kurama, however, looked straight at me, his eyes revealing nothing, but his usual curiosity as to what could have pried laughter from my lips, which he undoubtedly heard before he entered the room. Genkai, who I assumed was not one to mince words, cut straight to the chase and addressed me directly.

"Haruka Oishi, I refuse to train you. Return to the Demon World, there is no place for you here at my temple."

The way she said it, so cold and uncaring, as if ruining my life meant absolutely nothing to her, which I'm sure it did. My features remained as blank, as they possibly could as my insides felt like they were bursting into flames, frying away every piece of happiness and hope that Yukina and Botan had filled my heart with in the past couple of hours. Those pieces didn't vanish quickly, painlessly. They lingered, slowly heating to unbearable temperatures inside of me and I could feel myself losing my bearings on reality as the fiery hot pain engulfed me. I no longer felt Genkai's impatient stare, or Kurama's calculating one. I didn't hear the denial that came from Botan's lips or Yukina's gasp.

I was all consumed by my pain and by my rage slowly rising to the surface. How dare she send me back to that hell? Who is this miniscule human to refuse me? And how could Kurama stand there, eyes blank and uncaring, when he had fought on my behalf for much longer than anyone else ever had? How could Yukina and Botan fill me with such hope when they probably knew what decision Genkai would ultimately make for my fate? And most troubling, what would I live for now, knowing that I may have been this close to discovering my past, to only lose that and everything else in the span of one sentence.

How had I let myself get put in a situation that made it so easy for other to burn me? And it was this hatred of myself for allowing such foolish vulnerability on my part that fueled my rage as it boiled to the surface, masking my pain.

Only when the room around me exploded into flames, bringing the heat I felt internally upon the Ningenkai, did I return to the situation around me.

It seemed my demons wanted to haunt this world as well.

* * *

A/N: Oh my goodness! I am so incredibly sorry for the long wait for this chapter! I hope none of you have abandoned me, and I promise I have not abandoned you! For the person who asked, zurui means sly or sly one in Japanese, or so google translate tells me! Anyway, I now have more of a sense of where I am going with this story and I really hope you enjoy this slightly longer chapter! Once again, so terribly sorry for the wait. Please leave reviews and let me know if you think everyone is in character, because that is most definitely what I am going for.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Any recognizable Yu Yu Hakusho elements belong to their respective owners.

* * *

I had burned my bridges. More literally than I would have liked. I was in the same position as I was only a few hours ago, back when the sun was still up. I still lay on a bed somewhere in a temple, somewhere in the Ningenkai. I retained the same stoic expression I had on before I even met Yukina, and before Botan gave me hope. I still attempted to reel in my frantically rising anxiety as a group of people I had not met even a month ago, discussed my fate. Yet, there were distinct differences between now and then.

I was in an entirely different section of the temple, mostly because all that remained of my previous room were ashes scattered somewhere in the demonic forest outside. Another significant difference between now and then were the rose thorns that bit into my skin every time my pulse caused my skin to raise on my wrists, which thankfully was not as often as it would have been were I human, and drew blood with each muscle spasm. And of course, there were the new images to haunt my mind alongside the ones that had haunted me for more than a decade.

Images intermingled in my mind at such a torrential pace that forced my heart to race, the thorns of my binds drawing more pain from me, but it paled in comparison to the tightening in my chest. Black and orange flames danced together against a black sky with no light, as it provoked agonized screams of souls that were finding their end. Fighting for dominance over that were black flames that licked a faintly pink sky that would have been breathtaking if not for the flames strangling it, and ashes that swirled violently in the wind. In this version, the screams were fainter, more resembling the shocked gasps of those who are surprised but have seen much worse.

And now the sun had fallen and I worried that I wouldn't get the chance to see it again.

I attempted to bring myself back to the present moment, to stay grounded and levelheaded with the focus of my attention placed on trying to figure out what just happened, what the future could possibly hold for me now that I have once again ruined my chances. As I thought back on the past hour, it took all my willpower not to submit to the scene playing out in my head.

* * *

_Where before I couldn't understand anything going on around me, the minute the flames arose, I couldn't tune out the world no matter how hard I tried. The flames spread too quickly, much quicker than any flames I had seen in the Makai, and it seemed to systematically move through the room, and once the fire determined everything was sufficiently burning, it moved into the hallway, lighting the rooms up with darkness as it went. I felt like I only had eyes for the flames, yet I was somehow acutely aware of the chaos that was struggling to break free in the people stuck in the fire with me. _

_I could clearly see Kurama and Genkai, who stood on the opposite side of the room, away from Yukina, Botan, and myself, attempt to make their way around the wall of fire that had formed as a barrier between us and them. Kurama yelled at Botan to try to make her way to them, as both him and Genkai made no progress to get around the flames; all the while I shouldn't have been surprised to find that I was easily forgotten in the pandemonium of the fire. I saw the exact moment when Yukina, who had been covered in a thin sheen of sweat as the fire raged on, seemed to lose an internal battle and hit the floor. I will forever hear Botan's scream as Yukina passed out from the heat; surely her icy blood was not made to meld with fire._

"_Yukina! Yukina, please! Don't sleep! You have to wake up! Haruka, help me! Help me, please. Yukina can't live in this heat," Botan pleaded with me as her screaming for Yukina slowly died down to a hoarse whisper. Then she fell on top of Yukina, coughing as though her lungs were stuck in her throat, and, admittedly, she looked little better than Yukina. _

_It was then as Botan collapsed in a coughing heap, and Yukina lay paralyzed in the flames, that Kurama yelled, his cool veneer slowly cracking as he and Genkai still remained incapable of reaching us. "Botan, Yukina! Get up!" He didn't glance to me, not expecting my help, and, in all honesty, as I was as paralyzed as the two other girls._

_Some dark portion of my soul felt no need to help them. Some demon buried just below the surface told me to leave them, insisted that watching the whirling flames overtake them would paint a beautiful portrait with their ashes. And I was far more scared of that voice than I was scared of the flames. I curled in on myself, instinctually shrinking away from the flames, though I did not feel their heat, nor did I choke on its smoke. And I looked up to the sky, colored pink by a slowly setting sun, in hopes that it would somehow remove me from the voices in my head, and the shouts of Kurama and Genkai as they attempted, still with little progress, to reach the girls._

Not you, Haruka, _something whispered in my mind as I searched the sky. _They don't care about you. They want you to burn, so let them burn in your stead.

Please no. Not this time_. And it was that weakened portion of my spirit, the one that allowed comfort into my heart to swiftly, the part that encouraged smiling when every other instinct told me that a show of happiness was a death sentence, it told me now to save the girls. Save them if for no other reason than their blind foolish faith in me when everyone so obviously questions my motives._

_And that was all I needed. I pulled my gaze down to the two girls, where Botan was curled protectively over Yukina, though it was clear neither were conscious. I stood, walked through the flames that had slowly begun to encircle the girls, as they did not burn me, and lifted both girls into my arms, all with a strength completely foreign to me. _

_I walked across the wall of black fire that had divided me from Genkai and Kurama, and used the window behind them to climb out on the grassy area that separated the burning temple from the forest. _

_Kurama and Genkai joined me, and we watched the flames engulf the temple, as the blue hour settled in, with the two unconscious girls tucked securely in my arms._

_Eventually, as night slowly encroached on the sky, Botan awoke and Kurama rushed to her side, taking her from my arms, as Genkai watched, healing powers at the ready. Botan waved away Kurama's whispered concerns, as her own eyes filled with concern for the still unconscious Yukina. Ten minutes later, Yukina stirred, her eyes suddenly shooting open, only to have the slowly dying black flames reflected on her ruby irises. She stood, despite protests from everyone around. In what was clearly a daze, she marched closer to the fire, evading Genkai's grasp, just as an icy breeze swirled around her, and then forward to put out the flames in a matter of seconds. Then, she collapsed and Genkai rushed forward._

* * *

Everything else after that was a blur for me, as I found myself chained up, with no one in sight. However, everyone was in earshot, and if I concentrated on their voices, on stilling my rapidly beating heart, I could just make out some of what was being said.

"Master Genkai," that one was Prince Koenma. I wasn't aware he had come all the way down to the Ningenkai just for little me. "You have to understand, I can't allow someone who can cause raging fires at her will to simply wander around the Human World. Not only will my father have my head, it's downright irresponsible. It simply won't work. She is a hazard."

"I'm afraid I have to agree with Koenma," and that was Kurama speaking up. "She is dangerous, and despite my previous curiosity that caused me to bring her to you in the first place, keeping her here could prove unwise."

"Kurama! How can you say that?" I actually flinched at Botan's shriek, and became suddenly glad I was not on the receiving end of it. "After she risked her life to save Yukina and me. She obviously is alone and scared and can use all the help she can get with controlling her powers. How could you so cold-heartedly turn someone away who is so clearly trying to do good and so clearly needs guidance?" I couldn't tell if I should be flattered that Botan thought so highly of my character, no matter how foolishly, or angered that she viewed me as nothing more than a weak, charity case. This time Botan's scolding voice grew quieter, almost pleading. "Sir, you know she won't be able to find the same help in the Makai as she would have here."

Kurama responded before Prince Koenma could, his voice softer, and I could hear the sympathy he held for Botan's distressed state. "We both understand, Botan. But how can I let her stay when Yukina is still unconscious as a direct result of Haruka's lack of control?"

"I'm going to take her back to the Makai. And I won't allow her another chance," Prince Koenma said solemnly.

"No you won't," this was the first time that I had heard Genkai's gravelly voice speak up. "She actually proved to me that she had potential, and wasn't some weak demon without a single ounce of power or heart to back up her stupid mouth. I'm willing to train her, and I'm not about to let you take away my latest student. Yusuke's moved on, but I still got enough kick left in me after dealing with that dimwit to teach this apparition a thing or two."

Hearing Genkai speak so highly of me, after I was blatantly rude to her and burned down a decent portion of her temple, shocked me out of my eavesdropping. I couldn't comprehend why Genkai, or even Botan, would want me to stick around in the Human World after I nearly killed them all in what could easily be construed as an act of betrayal. I don't trust either of them, and gave neither of them a reason to trust me, and yet here they were, going against Spirit World's Prince, all for a stranger.

Prince Koenma remained silent for a moment. From what I could tell, he was weighing Genkai's words and whether or not it would be wise of him to directly disregard her wishes. In his eyes, I imagine every little trivial thing, including whether or not I'm allowed to stay in the Ningenkai, means the life or death of humanity to the prince. Finally, I heard him speak, his tone a near whisper, so I could only make out every few words. "Are…Master? …Can…dangerous."

Genkai's response was nowhere near as hushed as Koenma's voice. "It would be more dangerous to let her go off on her own, with a grudge against us, and turn into something even you couldn't handle with your pacifier."

"If you are sure, Master Genkai…" The rest of his sentence trailed off in hushed tones I couldn't detect. Silence settled over the temple, and after a few moments where I could only imagine the different looks cast in the room down the hall, I began to wonder when exactly someone would make a move to let me know I'm staying here in the Ningenkai.

I'm actually staying. I'll be able to wait to see the moon full in a sky of black and starbursts. I'll see the sunrise again and again. In the emptiness of the room, and in the wake of the news that spurred a surprisingly strong will to not just survive, but live, I smiled. The grin was so wide, I'm sure it looked ridiculously out of place on my face, and cheeks were sore from the exertion of muscles rarely used. Yet, I should have known by blind joy could only have a certain lifespan.

Then someone broke the silence that had descended so thickly on the room, that even I began to choke on it. "I must leave for the Makai, I have something to attend to. I will return soon. Botan, a word, please?" Kurama said, the first part, from what I could tell, was to no one in particular.

Well, that left me puzzled. I did not expect Kurama to take off once it was decided that I would stay here. I expected him to watch me like a Ningenkai hawk and force me to sleep in a locked room, bound by his plants like I was now. His departure left a confused look on my face, quickly replacing that disgusting smile.

I attempted to think about something else to distract me from my confusion that would undoubtedly leave me with questions I could not have the answers to. My mind randomly drifted to Botan and Kurama's relationship. I had not seen many courting rituals, let alone the courting rituals that took place in the Ningenkai culture. But from what I could deduce, Kurama was attempting to mate with Botan, and Botan herself showed no indication that she was aware of his attempts.

For some reason, I found a scowl slipping onto my face as I considered Kurama's attraction to Botan.

Footsteps in the hallway pulled my attention away from my bizarrely troubling thoughts. I schooled my features to their usual stoicism just as the door opened to reveal Genkai. She spoke immediately in a no nonsense tone. "Seeing as it's been a long day and tomorrow is your first day of training, I'll allow your training to start as late as sunrise." I sensed that she was bracing herself for some sort of retaliation to her intended starting time, but to be honest, I would enjoy watching the sunrise with the added bonus of beginning my training sooner rather than later. I simply nodded in response. As she turned to leave, I spoke up quickly.

"Master Genkai, could you please remove my binds? I wish to check on Yukina, if that is acceptable."

She seemed thoroughly shocked at my polite tone, which was as close to amiable as I got. It was simple, though, in my mind. Before, when I had first met her, her appearance was disappointing, and her obvious and instant dislike of me gave me no reason to respect her. However, hearing her speak about me to the others with such conviction that she would train me no matter what they said had cemented my loyalty and respect for the old human.

She quickly recovered from her shock and moved toward me with nothing but a "Hm," to let me know she would remove my binds. She did so quickly with a burst of her spirit energy, then nodded at me and said, "You are free to see her. Her room is down the hall. I assume you find it without me holding your hand."

My reply was a nod, to which she jerked her head, spun on her heel, and walked briskly out of the room. I got the sudden feeling that my relationship with Genkai would depend heavily on the subtext, rather than the context, of our conversations.

For instance, this conversation told Genkai that I respected and felt a loyalty to her, to a certain extent. She made it clear to me that she trusted me to roam her temple, but the slight aggression in her tone alerted me to the message: She'll trust me, but once I blow it, I'll never get it back.

After considering this with a faint smirk, I stood up, wiped my expression clean and went to see Yukina. After searching for her energy, I quickly found her room, and kneeled next to where she lay on the cot in the room, looking like a sleeping angel, waiting for the Reikai to call upon her to do good deeds throughout the world. She truly was an enchanting creature, and something tugged in my chest that I had been the one responsible for reducing her to this unconscious state.

I was unsure of what to do now that I had checked in on her and seen that she was simply sleeping, with no other wounds apparent. No doubt that putting out the demonic fire had strained her more than putting out a regular fire would. Her exhaustion stemmed from her kindness to clean up the mess I made. I felt that this left me in her debt, and I felt the strange need to protect this resting angel. I would not leave her this night. So I sat on the floor, leaning against her cot, and stared blindly at nothing, trying in vain to calm my still whirring thoughts about the excruciatingly long day. After what I thought was an hour of my sitting, I tentatively reached up and grabbed Yukina's hand. It was small, childlike, and sent a strange chill through me that calmed me somehow. I waited anxiously for her to stir, and wake up angry with me, but she didn't react at all.

So I stayed at her side through the night, feeling for the first time in a very long time, a familial protection for someone. And that was how I felt when slumber finally took me.

* * *

I did not dream.

But I awoke to a hand cutting off the airflow in my windpipe and an angry pair of red eyes glaring down at me.

* * *

A/N: Hi lovelies! Thankfully this update did not take as long as the last one! However, I regret to inform you that I will be leaving for the east coast in a week, and while I will try to update before then, there is a distinct chance that it could be a month before you guys here from me again! But hang in there with this cliffy because I promise more to come from both our demonic men soon enough! Let me know what you guys thought of all the nonsense that is Haruka's life!


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Any recognizable Yu Yu Hakusho elements belong to their respective owners.

In retrospect, I should have instantly stilled in reaction to such a rude awakening. But in that horribly terrifying moment when a person finds herself awake and acting on little more than instinct, I began to struggle. It was quickly made apparent to me that any struggle I made to free myself was futile, as my attacker was clearly prepared for this kind of irrational response.

I stilled instantly in an attempt to reconcile my waking state with knowledge of what could have possibly lead to me being pinned by my throat to the floor by…Hiei? What in the three worlds was going on? Then my memories came rushing back, everything from my unexpected departure from the Makai to my decision to spend the night guarding Yukina as a result of my unexplained instinctive protective feeling toward her. That did little to explain why Hiei was sitting on my chest, his face set in angry determination, as he attempted to end my life. I had to free myself. I had to save myself and ensure that Yukina was well, not knowing how a violent Hiei would respond had she woken up and attempted to defend me as a result of that insanely sweet nature of hers. Realizing the importance of breaking out of Hiei's vice like grip, I did something that went against all my instincts.

I relaxed my tense muscles, closed my eyes, and pressed myself against Hiei. His grip instantly loosened out of shock, and I took the weakness as an opportunity to slip out from under where he had me pinned. I stood up instantly and looked to where Yukina was laying on her cot. I dove for her, but was thrown back and into a wall, knocking all the air out of me as I slumped on the ground. I then felt a sharp, burning pain burst in my stomach. I looked down only to find a katana blade sticking out from my torso, a still infuriated Hiei holding the blade in place, successfully pinning me to the wall and immobilizing me with excruciating pain.

As the world began to swim around in unnatural colors, I tried to grab onto any thought process to distract me from the pain and give me a focus. The first thought happened to be protecting Yukina, from this violent demon before me. So with my dwindling strength I yelled out to her sleeping form. "Yukina! Run!" She stirred, so I repeated the same two words even louder, as Hiei growled at me, twisting the blade, causing even more pain to erupt from within me.

She finally bolted up, and I saw her eyes widen, taking in the situation before her, which I can only imagine how much of a shock it must have been, considering the last thing she would have remembered seeing were black flames. I felt my warm blood pooling around my hands and dribble down my chin. If only I could get Yukina to run to Genkai, she would be safe. Nothing could save my life at this point except my own dwindling willpower. She locked eyes with me and I felt a wave of self-disappointment wash over me as I realized I could do nothing to save her except tell her to run once more. I am so pathetic.

Instead of obeying me, she let out a cry as she launched herself at Hiei, causing him to lose focus from his kill and quickly pull his sword out of my stomach and whirl on her. I watched in horror as his katana moved toward Yukina…and clattered to the floor.

I questioned the reality of the situation playing out before my eyes. Yukina latching onto Hiei begging him to stop. Hiei, with his back turned to me, tensing, and then catching the crazed Yukina before she hurt herself by falling on the floor. Genkai and Botan bursting through the door, only to freeze in shock as their eyes widened. Hiei, setting Yukina carefully on the ground before flitting away out the window. Yukina, an angel of pale colors, crawling toward me, painting herself in an obscene amount of crimson. Where did all that blood come from? Botan's blue hair bobbing rapidly toward the window as I distantly heard her voice calling desperately for help. Or maybe she was calling for someone to come back. I couldn't be sure. Genkai blurring in and out of existence as she made her way to me, a mildly regretful look in her eyes. Yukina's normally graceful hands fumbling at my stomach. Then, the black edges around my vision began to encroach around Yukina's frantic form, and I called for her to watch out should the shadows consume her. Then blackness was everywhere and all I could sense were the sounds of precious gems hitting hard wood floors.

* * *

"This is your destiny. You'll kill them all. Those who survive will want your head on a pike, and in turn, you will tear them to pieces. This is your destiny. You'll kill them all. Those who survive will want your head on a pike, and in turn, you will tear them to pieces…"

Over and over again, this replayed in my head. I knew it was my voice, though it sounded nothing like me. Somehow I just knew. But this version of my voice was deeper, raspier, darker, mocking. I knew the "all" was. Yukina, Botan, Genkai. Who else could this other me be talking about? These were the only people who I had been close to since, well since Susumuru.

An image flickered into existence before my eyes. It was a young girl. She had pale hair straight as a board and reaching to her thighs. She was probably my age, but her childlike body, combined with soft features, made her seem so much younger. Her skin was pale, but like that of a human. In fact, with her light blue eyes, widened in innocence, and her lack of anything marking her as a demon, made her look shockingly innocent. "Hello. I'm Haruka. The other ones, though, they call me Ruka. Who are you?"

"No." It came out as a harsh whisper, painful and old next to her light voice. My thoughts rumbled together, and the contrast of our voices was low on my present list of concerns. How could this girl have my name? Perhaps I could just easily dismiss it as coincidence, but there. Right there in her features, beneath the softness of her innocence, was me. This was some kind of trick, and it made me so angry, so unimaginably angry, for some reason, that this little thing wanted to be me. I raised my voice this time, practically pitching it into a shriek. "No! That's not your name! You are not me! Get away!"

Tears welled in her eyes the second the first word left my lips. "Please miss. Don't be mad. I only call myself this because she told me it's who I am meant to be. You don't have to tell me your name. But can you stay with me? I hate how quiet it gets here without any others. I'll even tell you a story. Please?"

I hesitated. This girl was stupid and naïve for several reasons. First off, she showed such weakness, crying in front of a stranger. Then she begged. And most foolishly, she asked me to stay as her company. But she seemed so genuinely lonely, standing there with her shoulders slumped, tears now streaking down her face. So I settled the panic that had risen in my chest. "Okay, I'll stay for a story."

She smiled in response, a thing so genuine that it further calmed my slightly frayed nerves.

"Once upon a time, there was this beautiful human girl. She was so beautiful that many people would seek her out with drawings and words and stories just so they could see her smile. And she always would grace them with a smile, as she had a very kind heart. But no smile felt genuine to her heart, so she would leave her village for weeks at a time. She would wander into the forest and find this small clear stream, and stare at her reflection for hours, hoping she would find a reason to smile genuinely, if she searched herself. But it never came. And after years of this, her smile began to fade. She tried, she really did, to smile the same, but it fooled no one. So one day, people stopped coming to her. And she found herself alone.

"She left her village, telling her home and people goodbye. She whispered on the wind that her home was no longer here. It was where she had reason to smile, and she had to find this place so that she may live as she once did, surrounded by happiness. She walked into the woods once more, this time with no intention of ever coming back out. She walked past her stream, and never once did she stop, or even glance back at all she was leaving behind her. That is, until she was tackled to the ground. It was a boy who did it. A young man, who was her age, in fact. He immediately jumped to his feet, and helped the girl up, stuttering apologies in the most sincere voice the young girl had ever heard. But her kind heart did not anger at him in the slightest. She said to him, 'Young man, there is no reason to apologize. It is okay. Now, would you tell me your name?'

"Only then did he stop his frantic apologies and looked at the girl he had knocked over. And so struck was he by her beauty, even though she didn't smile, that he could barely remember his own name, so he stuttered out in a somewhat awestruck voice, 'I don't know.' She raised one eyebrow at him in response, but he made no moves to change his answer. So she replied, 'Well, that is a problem. I am Yua.'

"She would end up walking with him for hours until they reached his village. She would find out his name was Seiko, and he was an honest man, with a young pure heart. She told him of her journey, and he told her that maybe if she stopped searching it would come to her. She would decide to settle in this village with this man, as she had not come close to finding a reason to smile during her journey. And one morning, at sunset, she would smile her first real smile.

"On the year anniversary of when they meet, a demon would wander into their village and kill both Yua and Seiko, as they lay sleeping in each other's arms. When she reached Spirit World, she met Lord Koenma for her judgment, and he found that her soul was so pure that she was destined to be a Pilot of the River Styx. And so she worked for two hundred years, missing her Seiko more each day. Then one day, she saw Seiko. Or at least she thought she did. He was walking along the clouds when she screamed and ran up to him. This man, who was not Seiko, as Yua soon realized, was struck by her extraordinary beauty, and promptly picked her up and took her to his cave in the deepest pits of the Spirit World.

"This man, this one who took Yua away, was not a nice man. He did not know love, as he was raised thousands of years earlier to scorn the thought of such kindness of heart. But Yua's beauty was so immense, her soul still so pure in its longing for happiness and Seiko, that this man felt a special longing for Yua, a possessiveness that, for him, was as close to love as possible. Jaaku, as Yua began to call him, as his kind did not have names, kept her chained to the wall, the cuffs around her wrists so tight that the slightest movement caused her blood to flow, and as she was a River Styx Pilot, her blood had magical addictive properties. And Jaaku would drink it greedily, and then he would lay with her. And he was so rough, so uncaring, that it broke Yua's spirit. Night after night, Yua lay in her corner of his cave, chained up, bleeding, starved, and weak, for fifty years. It should have been a blink of time for the two old beings, but for both, that fifty years lasted longer than the binds of time would allow. For Yua, it was purgatory every second of the day, as she longed for the safety of Seiko's arms away from this monster. For Jaaku, he had never felt more alive, and more rageful.

"Anyway, after those fifty years, Yua's belly rounded with child. And when she realized it, she wept, for this was once her dream and now her nightmare. She could not bear to birth a child into this world of darkness, this world without Seiko as the child's father. When Jaaku learned of Yua's condition, he immediately released her of her chains, trusting that she would never have a place to run to, not now. And the next day, or what Yua assumed was about a day's time, he brought back a man. Whereas Jaaku's power was all rageful, energized, uncontrolled, this new man was the epitome of control, and unimaginably more powerful. His energy whipped the air around him, causing bleeding lacerations of Yua's skin from one hundred feet away. This new man sniffed the blood in the air, and he spoke, his voice as painful to Yua as one of Jaaku's punches.

"'This child,' he said, 'will be the first girl of our kind. And with such mixed blood, she will become the most powerful and most pure.' And with that the man vanished. When Yua gave birth to the child, she wept at the sight, as she was innocent as all babies should be, not yet touched by the evilness of her father or her birthplace. But before Yua could name what she immediately deemed a child of miracle, Jaaku told Yua that she must leave now, and the child must stay with him. This broke her all over again, the pieces of her soul the child had restored left to fester in the wind, but she was no fool, and she knew that no one in the three worlds, let alone her, could stand against him now.

"So Yua did the last thing she could possibly do. She extracted a piece of the child's soul, the portion that belonged to Yua, the part that was all purity and innocence, and she tucked it away as she handed over her child to Jaaku, and began the long walk ahead of her to leave the cave. No one is sure how she made it back to Koenma's palace, as no one knows the extent of the journey she must have underwent to simply emerge from the caves and make it back to the habitable portion of Spirit World. But she did make it back, and knelt before Koenma, begging for some peace for her soul after so many years of pain. And Lord Koenma looked down on the former Pilot, the former pure human, and I think his heart broke a little bit. The protocol for someone so tainted by the darkness of the Reikai should have been condemned to purgatory immediately, to ensure such darkness did not spread to the other afterlives. So in a ruling that would surely bring down the wrath of King Enma on his head, he told Yua to hurry away to the portion of the Spirit World where Seiko waited for her, as once she arrived, not even Enma could remove her.

"But just as she made to leave, Yua paused. She hurried back to kneeling before Lord Koenma, and handed the spirit orb that contained her daughter's goodness. She hurriedly told Koenma the whole story of Jaaku, and her beautiful daughter, who was surely already corrupted beyond fixing, and told Koenma that when the day comes, he must have her daughter slain, drowned in the River Styx, and then when he brings back her soul, he must wait until she reaches maturity before he instills her with the goodness of her soul, so she may finally chose her own path. Then Yua ran away to Seiko's arms and there they both lived happily ever after."

Ruka stands there after she's finished her story, beaming at me, waiting for me to say something. But, at first, I have no idea what to say. The tragedy of the story, combined with the prophecy at the end, has left me speechless. I try to organize myself and am able to say, "Who told you this story?"

"Well Uncle told it to me, but he said, he learned it from Mommy, but I haven't met her yet. He says he sees her all the time, but that it will be thousands of years before it is my time to meet her and Daddy. But it's all okay, because now I have you so I can tell all the stories to you that Uncle told me."

All of a sudden, before I could try to process this other me's complicated family tree, which immediately had induced feeling of bitterness- who is she to know her family when I am so alone?- she began to fade. Realizing this, that I must be waking up, she began to cry, wailing at me to stay with her, just for a little while longer. I felt a desperate need to tell her to shut up, I couldn't stay with her if I wanted to, that I had already appeased her for too long, she faded into nothing.

* * *

And I woke up to my room in Genkai's temple. I sat up straight the second I came to, and looked around, almost as if I would see Ruka looking at me from the side of my bed, the same intense pleading and loneliness in her eyes.

Instead my eyes landed on the two oddly hair-colored girls leaning tiredly against the wall. Both, however, lit up upon seeing me and sprang to their feet, rushing to my side. Botan spoke up first, and said, "Oh thank Enma you're actually awake! You gave us quite the scare," to which Yukina added in her normally subdued voice, "We thought you wouldn't wake up."

I felt my heart swell under the concerned gazes of these two girls. I maybe couldn't consider them my friends yet, but the three women of this temple had aided me in the past days more than they will ever know, and I was truly indebted to them. Speaking of the third woman, Genkai was strangely absent, so asked the girls before me where she was.

"Oh, Master Genkai felt drained after helping us heal you so she went to go get some tea. And Mr. Kurama has returned as well," Yukina said.

Then Botan quickly added, "They've actually been gone quite a while, maybe one of us should go check on them…" she trailed off, her reluctance to be the one to check on them clear in her voice. I, however, saw an opportunity present. Something told me that Kurama's disappearance and Hiei's attack had something to do with one another.

"I'll check on them, I need a chance to stretch my legs anyway," I said, and waved off Botan and Yukina's protests that I should rest instead. I quickly walked down the hallway, trying to recollect where I needed to turn to make it to the kitchen, where Genkai and Kurama once again discussed something over tea. The sight I encountered upon turning the corner was not one that surprised me. Kurama and Genkai sat across from each other, Genkai sipping tea, Kurama's standard cold glare turned toward me. It was in that cold glare that I received all the confirmation I needed. Kurama had sent Hiei after me, to kill me in my sleep, and I wanted to know why.

"Good, you're awake. I don't know why you young people keep getting seriously injured, as if in my old age I have the energy to heal you morons. Hm," Genkai said.

I slowly approached the table to take a seat, Kurama's untrusting glare watching my every movement, and his body tensing the closer I came to him. "Master Genkai, do you mind if I have a word with the fox? Alone?" Genkai simply shrugged, stood, and walked out of the room, her somehow still steaming tea cup in hand.

Silence settled over us as I tried to figure out how to ask him what was plaguing my mind. Finally, my patience dwindled to nothing, and I just blurted out what I was thinking. "Why send Hiei after me? Why not kill me yourself? You're not a coward, and you could easily kill me yourself, so what was your reason to shrink away from your responsibility? If I'm such a danger, why not finish me off yourself? This isn't like you."

His gaze somehow grew colder, "Do not presume to know me, or even attempt to understand my motives. Your young brain is too lacking to comprehend. However, if you must know, this was Hiei's affair, and I felt he had a right to know that his sister was in danger. How he reacted was his decision, and I had no right to step in."

The fact that he just admitted Yukina and Hiei's relationship was quickly dismissed by both of us, he knew I was already aware of their secret relation. "Well, your little boyfriend failed at his job, and caused quite a mess. Why not clean it up? Kill me."

"It is not my place," he said simply, his gaze warming only slightly, "and if he had wanted you dead, we would not be having this conversation."

I let that settle over me, but only more questions arose within my brain. I wanted to hate both these men, who held my life in their hands, who some me as some demon barely worth my weight in shit. I wanted to train to be strong enough to kill them both. But then I remembered the look in Kurama's eyes when he was around Botan, or how Hiei reacted to Yukina. And I realized maybe those girls were my friends. And could I really throw that away so easily by training with the sole purpose to kill the men they cared for, in whatever way that care was present. I shook myself. This was a matter of survival, my own, and it came down to the fact that either I would live long enough for them to kill me or for me to kill them. I knew what I had to do.

I stood up abruptly, but did not startle Kurama as I did so. I walked down the hall until I ran into Genkai just outside the kitchen. I said to her, the coldness in my voice unmistakable, "We begin training tomorrow at sunrise."

She simply nodded knowingly. When I reached my room, not surprised to see Botan and Yukina sitting on my cot waiting for me, I told them in the same cold voice I had regarded Genkai with, a voice I had been hesitant to use around them, to leave. I pretended to not see the hurt swell in their eyes. I fell asleep quickly and woke before sunrise the next morning, salty tears staining my pillow case.

A/N: Ok, so yes it has been forever since I updated, but I just want to say thank you to all of you who have put up with me! The next wait between chapters will not be nearly as long, I promise! Hope you enjoyed! Oh and your lovely reviews encourage me to write! Just saying!


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